Taiwan's KMT chair Cheng Li-wun pitched a hopeful message to young business leaders: AI and the zero-carbon shift are threats, but mostly a chance for Taiwan to build its next wave of world-beating industries.

• Speaking at the Junior Chamber International Taiwan national meeting in Tainan, Cheng framed AI and decarbonization as the two big transitions facing every Taiwanese industry.
• The pitch: traditional manufacturing, services, and even farming and fishing can upgrade and boom, not just chip firms.
• She pointed to Taiwan's "K-shaped" economy, where some sectors surge while others fall behind, as the problem to fix.
• Taiwan sits between the US and China, and she argued that position is a strategic advantage rather than a trap — a "Taiwan model" worth exporting.
• The frame is a sequel to the "silicon shield": after 40 years of TSMC-style protection, she wants a whole group of new champion industries.

Outlook: Expect the KMT to keep courting young entrepreneurs with an industrial-upgrade message as it positions itself on economic policy ahead of the next election cycle.